“Very well, I will go to Broni first. Her danger is more imminent than the others.”
Thor had started to gather the thunder in which he would travel when Fate’s sharp voice stopped him. “No, you must first go after Cara. She must be returned here at once.” Fate pointed to a portion of the sky that Thor had not noticed. There was a dark cloud insidiously advancing toward Cara, and it was almost within reach of touching her.
Thor turned to look at Fate, surprise in his eyes. “I see why you are a master at your work, Fate. I did not see the threat advancing so quickly. What about Broni?”
Fate stiffened her spine and ignored the ache in her heart at the pain Broni would have to brave, but Broni was her mother’s daughter, and she would survive, whereas if Cara wasn’t helped soon, she would be beyond their reach forever.
“Broni would be the first to insist that you go after Cara. She will understand. I will provide her with what assistance I am allowed.”
“Very well.” Again, Thor raised his hand to gather the thunder. As the lightning grew closer and the thunder louder, he turned to look at the woman who gave him birth. “I do this for my sisters, never for you, and know this, Fate, whatever deal you struck with my father, I will see that it is met.”
“I agreed to Odin’s demands. I will not go back on my word.”
“What if she doesn’t want to leave her human?”
“Kill him.”
* * *
Cara and Jericho headed back to the cabin at nightfall. He kept her close as they walked through the forest, straining to listen for any sound that would betray an assailant waiting in the dark forest. When they reached the cabin, Jericho made her go through each room with him, not wanting to leave her alone as he searched.
“It’s all right. Whoever took that shot at you is gone. I didn’t think they would be waiting for us here, but I wanted to make sure.”
Cara shivered. “Do you think whomever it was will come back?”
Jericho gave her a hard stare. “You tell me. Whoever it was, they were shooting at you. Do you have any idea who it could be?”
Cara shook her head. “No, the one who tried to destroy my sisters and me was an immortal. Who shot at us today was obviously human. They want to hide their identity from those watching us and want their identity to remain secret. They know my family will retaliate as soon as they find out who tried to harm us.”
“What do you mean by those watching us?” Jericho looked around the room as if they were surrounded by invisible entities.
Cara laughed at him. When he turned his cold expression back to her, she guessed he had no sense of humor.
“No one is in the room with us, but my family can look at us from time to time. Sort of like your reality TV.”
“Is there a way to turn it off?”
Cara couldn’t help laughing once more. “No.”
“Were they watching when we were having sex?” Again, he looked around the room as if he could see those watching them.
“There is an unspoken rule allowing us privacy at such times, but”—Cara bit her lip to keep her laughter contained—“we do have the occasional voyeur.”
“Tell them to cut it out.”
Cara spread her hands out. “How do you propose I do that? I can no longer communicate with them.”
“Well, think of something,” Jericho ordered.
Cara silently looked at him, noticing the faint blush that covered his cheeks. It was dawning on her that he was uncomfortable.
“Are you embarrassed?”
“Why shouldn’t I be? You just told me that several immortals are watching every move we make, including those of a private nature. Am I supposed to be okay with that? Can I ask what made you assume that I am an exhibitionist?”
Cara tried—she really did—but she couldn’t hold her laughter back any longer. She doubled over when his affronted expression became too much for her to bear.
“Well, I can see you are in no mood to be reasonable, so I’m going to bed. If you’re hungry, you can forage for yourself. Goodnight.” He was almost out of the room before Cara could gather herself.